The decision to be announced on June 4 will cause consternation among the main beneficiaries of the program, In particular in Italy, Spain, Portugal and Poland. All these countries pressed to delay the expiry date of the program.
Some countries are still trying to maximize the use of free subsidies from the program called: Instrument for rebuilding and increasing immunity. It is a pool of money at the level of EUR 650 billion created in 2021 to finance the reconstruction of Europe after the Covid-19 pandemic.
However, the European Commission claims that There are no legal grounds to extend the date of the expiry of this programsaid Politico of several officials who wanted to maintain anonymity.
The EU executive authorities grant money only after assessing whether specific countries have met a set of requirements and goals related to the launch of the Fund. For many countries, however, they were difficult to meet, which contributed to delays.
The energy crisis and a sharp increase in inflation after Russia's full invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 prompted many EU countries to correct their plans, which even delayed the payment of payment applications.
To maximize interest in the program, EU executive authorities can now focus on helping individual countries before the deadline.
“Member States must urgently review their plans and remove all projects from them that are no longer feasible” – said the Commissioner for Economy Valdis Dombrovskis at the beginning of this month.
Dombrovskis supervises the repair fund together with the Commissioner for Cohesion Raffael Fitto, which comes from the right -wing party brothers Italians Prime Minister Giorgia Melons. The Italian government, in particular the Minister of Finance Giancarlo Giorgetti, is particularly willing to extend the postpandemical operation of the fund. Despite the pressure, among others On the part of Rome, EU legal services have recently rejected attempts to postpone the date of expiry of the fund's availability without a formal change in the rules of the program agreed in 2021, said Politico of several officials who know the proceedings.
Changing the rules would require unanimity among EU countries, which would be a political nightmare, taking into account Prolonged opposition from northern countries, such as Germany and the Netherlands.
According to the current rules, EU member states must apply for payments under specific projects before the border date on August 31, 2026. This gives the Commission enough time to give green light for applications and separate cash before December 31, 2026.
According to your own data, the European Commission So far, she has paid about EUR 315 billion in subsidies and loans within the entire pool planned for 648 billion.
However, in the face of the real risk of losing EU funds, some countries develop ways to secure money from the deadline. The commission has already approved this week, among others Poland's application for a shift of almost EUR 6 billion from a tranche of loans to ecological projects, for which there is not much demand for more popular defensive initiatives. Although money cannot be used for direct purchase of weapons, according to the original rules, they can still be directed to “double application” projects, such as road construction for tanks and shelters.
As part of the bypass, the money will be served by a special fund associated with the Polish BGK Development Bank. The Polish government will still have an impact on the way of spending money, but the involvement of the Development Bank will help create a bay for funds after the expiry of 2026.
The EU is also to give Poland and other countries additional time for fundssaid Jan Szyszko, secretary of state at the Polish Ministry of Funds and Regional Policy. This concession “would extend the moment when committee officials check whether the goals were achieved” until November 2026, said Szyszko in an interview with Politico. In practice, this move would give countries more time to apply for payments, without changing the rules.
It is expected that the European Commission also assess whether the requirements have been met at a faster pace, which is to be another sign of good will – several representatives of national rule informed. The capitals of individual countries have long complained that complicated EU regulations are slowing down payments. However, because the EU is under pressure to prove the success of its program, the Commission will be willing to release as many funds as possible.
